Autonomous Vehicle PDZ Handoff to Cut Pickup Search Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in efficiently locating and utilizing available pick-up/drop-off zones (PDZs), leading to unnecessary time spent searching for suitable locations, which could be utilized for providing ride or delivery services.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented to strategically manage the movement of autonomous vehicles by requesting one vehicle to remain at a PDZ, allowing another vehicle to claim it, based on factors like target location, arrival time, historical availability, demand, costs, and legal restrictions, using a dispatch system to facilitate PDZ handoffs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous vehicles independently search for available PDZs, then each vehicle can find a stopping location, but the time spent searching increases and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the PDZ search and selection functions across multiple autonomous vehicles through a centralized dispatch system. Instead of each vehicle independently searching for PDZs, the system combines information from multiple vehicles to identify and allocate available PDZs, thereby reducing the time each vehicle spends searching while ensuring reliable PDZ acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispatch system performs preliminary identification and allocation of PDZs before vehicles arrive at potential stopping locations. By pre-determining which PDZs are available and assigning them to specific vehicles in advance, the system eliminates the need for vehicles to search for PDZs upon arrival, significantly reducing search time while maintaining reliable PDZ acquisition.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present disclosure include systems, methods, and devices to facilitate pick-up/drop-off zone (PDZ) handoffs between autonomous vehicles. Consistent with some embodiments, a pick-up/drop-off zone (PDZ) is located based on detecting a first autonomous vehicle stopped at a stopping location. A system determines, based on one or more criteria, whether to request the first autonomous vehicle to remain stopped at the stopping location to create an opportunity for a second autonomous vehicle to claim the PDZ. An amount of time for the first autonomous vehicle to remain stopped at the stopping location is determined based on the one or more criteria. A request to remain stopped at the stopping location is transmitted to a vehicle autonomy system of the first autonomous vehicle based on satisfaction of the one or more criteria. The request specifies the amount of time for the first autonomous vehicle to remain at the stopping location.